Machinations of a Mad God

The Dragon Empire

The Magus War

After the threat of the slaadi was neutralized, the enmity between the Wizard’s Council and the Dragon Emperor escalated rapidly resulting in an all-out war between the two. This war, The Magus War, lasted less than a year but stuck a blow to the empire from which it would never truly recover from. Half way through the war a truce was called and both sides met in Arcus Tower in Horizon for the signing of the First Arcus Accords (a treaty meant to bring an end to the war). However, during the signing of the accords, the Dragon Emperor was assassinated by the rouge wizard, Canto Verdes (age 36). The result: The continuation of the war for another year. Again the war would come to a draw, and as before, a truce was called and both sides drafted the Second Arcus Accords, the Accords made the city of Horizon and a large swathe of land under the Wizard’s Council’s control a nation independent of the Dragon Empire, a nation known as Arcadia.

The Brood Wars

In the wake of the Emperor’s death, a war broke out between his three surviving children (Servanus Rex Draconis (age 28); Megera Rex Draconis (age 30); Valen Rex Draconis (age 26)). The war that came to be known as The First Brood War lasted 20 long bloody years and cost the lives of hundreds of thousands across the whole of the empire. The war came to a close with the death of Prince Servanus at the hands of Prince Valen and the disappearance of Princess Megera. While the Brood War had ended, the Dragon Empire would see no rest. Emperor Valen Rex Draconis would rule for with an iron fist for 10 brutal years before being assassinated (at the age of 56) by one of his consorts, Duchess Badreass, who would promptly place her own son, Prince Maleck Rex Draconis (age 15) on the throne. Duchess Badreass would act as lord regent until Emperor Maleck’s 17th birthday when he would unexpectedly and brutally murdered his own mother in front of dozens of guests at his birthday banquet. This would signal the beginning of a dark era known as the Widow Years which would be marked by tyrannical emperors and the formation of underground splinter groups headed by the various members of the Draconis family. The Widow years would last some 100 years (~134 after the Slaadi crisis) and end with the Second Brood War which would last some 30 years (ending ~164 years after the Slaadi Crisis) as the various members of the Draconis royal family (both real and pretend) would engage in the bloodiest war known since the original war against the Four. The war would split the empire into 4 warring factions: The Loyalist, The Separatist, The Shadow Pact, and The Imperialists. The Loyalist held that the rightful ruler of the empire should be the direct descendant of the first Dragon Emperor, whom they claimed was Emperor Baldur Rex Draconis. The Separatists held that the Draconis family was fallen and corrupt beyond repair and called for a republic. The Shadow Pact, so named for the common belief that it was created with the help of none other than the Prince of Shadows, sought to place a woman claiming to be the direct descendant of Princess Megera. Finally, The Imperialists held that no true heir alive was fit to rule and that the Grand Arbiter, General Zorrick Delmar, was rightful ruler of the empire. The Second Brood War would begin with the appearance of a mysterious woman claiming to be the great-great-granddaughter of the lost Princess Megera, Demona Vas Draconis. Demona claimed to have grown up far to the west in the country of Xen’sho, where she claims Princess Megera fled after the First Brood War. She declared herself the rightful heir to the dragon throne and Emperor Baldur Rex Draconis a steward at best. Demona’s tactics where brutal, swift, and effective and saw the tides turn in favor of the Shadow Cult during the final years of the war. In one of the most devastating battles of the war, Demona would lead her forces on a midnight raid on the Imperialists base in Axis. Grand Arbiter Delmar’s where utterly destroyed, resulting in the utter destruction of the city and all within its walls in what would become known as The Night of Towers.

The war would continue for another 3 years after the Night of Towers, the total annihilation of the Imperialists spelled disaster for the Separatists as the Loyalists and Shadow Pact descended upon them in Santa Cora wiping them out in a brutal month long battle known as the Month of Blood. Both of the surviving factions where thoroughly decimated resulting in a peace treaty between the two. Demona and her Shadow Pact would take the northern half of the empire while Baldur would rule the southern region. The border between the two was marked by the smoldering ruins of Axis and its surrounding area. This area would come to be known as the Blood Wastes and spaned the length of the Bronze River and approx. 5 miles on either side of its banks. The Blood Wastes became lawless lands free from rule by either Demona, Baldur, or the Wizard’s Council.

At present, Empress Demona rules from Castle Proudspire in the city of Perth, which is located on the Fangs within Fairwind Sound. Meanwhile, Emperor Baldur rules from Capstone Tower in the city of Gateway which lies just outside the Gorgon’s Maw. The northern empire is now known as Sanglunax while the southern empire is known as the Jade Kingdom.